I have never done this before. But tonight – my husband and I were home due to an unexpected cancellation and I have had a rib roast in the freezer for a while – and decided that this was the night to roast it. However I only decided at about 4pm – not really enough time to defrost before roasting it. I have also not had great success defrosting stuff in the microwave – it tends to nuke the meat – so that was not an option.
So I tried an experiment. I heated the oven to 450 and then seasoned the roast with my favorite mixture – spices from Turkey which we bought from the spice market there – ie spicy curry and turmeric mixture – along with garlic salt and thyme and lemon pepper – and a couple of tablespoons of brown sugar. I rubbed that all in – then put the roast into the oven. I cooked it for about 18-20 minutes a pound – but that is really personal depending how rare you like your meat.
The interesting part about doing this is that the outside was rather well done ( which is how my husband likes it) and the inside was really rare ( which is how I like it) and the outside of the whole roast was caramelized and crusty – divine. We did put it back into the oven after we had cut the slices we liked since the inside was probably a bit too rare -it was way too much meat just for two of us – and roasted it about 20 minutes more ( I had roasted for 18 minutes a pound) and then when it cooled ( we did nibble a bit more I must admit!) put it into the fridge for tomorrow’s dinner. Amazing taste!
I served this with Gem Squash – ever heard of that? We used to have it in South Africa – my parents grew it – at least twice a week and the taste took me back to my childhood. YUM!
I also roasted 2 red onions cut into slices along with two sweet potatoes – I am fortunate to have two ovens so it was easy to time everything for the same ‘finish’ moment. A delicious and romantic dinner at home for two! Lucky us!
Here is the Gem Squash below. Boil or bake it – and cut in half – remove seeds and add butter ( and if splurging – a teaspoon of brown sugar!).
